the course of true love never did run smooth
by earlyable
Summary: '"What's the ring look like? Because if I have to go out and get another one…" Mel trailed off with her threat when James walked over to his desk, opened the top drawer and let out a cry of horror. She covered her eyes with her hands. "Don't tell me you've lost it." She groaned as James whirled and began searching everywhere.' Oneshot, James' proposal to Lily.


**A/N: Here is the promised oneshot from **_**come away, O human child **_**if you haven't read it, please do. This story hasn't been beta'd, because my beta, Arones, has run off and abandoned me. When she eventually finds her way out of the wilderness that is writing a novel, I'll get her to look at this.**

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_12__th__ August 1978_

James stared horrified at the bag of flower petals in the hallway of his house in Godric's Hollow. "What's wrong, Prongs?" Sirius asked, coming out of the kitchen, rubbing his hands on a towel.

"Who ordered the flowers?" James asked horrified, his voice high pitched. Sirius frowned at him.

"I did," he said worriedly. "Are they okay?"

"No, they aren't. Why did you order lilies?" James still had a horrified look on his face but his voice had lowered several octaves to his normal pitch.

"Because roses are clichéd," Sirius said as if stating the obvious. "Prongs, what's wrong?"

"Her _name _is Lily, Padfoot. What possessed you to do that?" James' voice had, yet again, risen several octaves until he was in danger of breaking the windows.

Remus and Mel came down from upstairs where they had been setting up the bedroom for the celebration when Lily accepted. When James had told them that Lily might not say yes, they'd each looked at the other and laughed before continuing to set up the room.

"What's wrong?" Mel inquired, stealing a few nuts from the bowl in the hallway and popping them in her mouth as she led the way into the kitchen. James turned to her and said deadpan, "He ordered lilies."

"Oh no, Padfoot, you didn't." Remus looked horrified less at the atrocity of it than the fact that Sirius has actually gone there.

"Roses are cliché." Sirius said, still looking confused. "I don't get it, what did I do?"

Mel laughed and kissed him on the nose. "Her _name _is Lily, you fool, Padfoot. You just don't go there with a girl because we have very low self-esteem." Sirius still looked confused and Mel kissed him on the nose. "Don't worry, dear, I'll make sure to forgive you when you mess up your proposal to me." The men all whipped around, shocked, and Mel grinned at them. "Now, James, let's go through everything here. How are you going to start?"

James looked relieved that she was taking charge. "Okay, so I've told her we're going out tomorrow night to that new restaurant in London. I've already made the reservations at seven o'clock in the evening and I've told her to meet me here five minutes beforehand in formal dress."

"Alright, so you're good so far. What's the ring look like? Because if I have to go out and get another one…" Mel trailed off with her threat when James walked over to his desk, opened the top drawer and let out a cry of horror. She covered her eyes with her hands. "Don't tell me you've lost it." She groaned as James whirled and began searching everywhere.

"Can't you just summon it?" Sirius asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I spelled it not to in case she suspects something." James said, still frantically pulling the house apart; even going so far as to pull the cushions off the chairs and check down the sides of the sofa.

"Prongs darling, calm down and think; where did you last have the ring?" Mel inquired patiently. James stopped tearing through the house and came to stand in front of her, vibrating with barely concealed panic.

"I took it from my pocket when Lily came over yesterday and put it in the top drawer of my desk and charmed it so only I could open it. When Lily left I..." James let his sentence run off as he suddenly darted from where he was standing and ran over to the desk and threw open the bottom drawer and pulled out a velvet case. "Found it." He stated unnecessarily. Mel rolled her eyes as both Sirius and James relaxed. "Seriously, James, get your arse over here and show me the ring… now, Prongs."

James threw her the case and she caught it with her expert reflexes as a Chaser. She opened the case and saw a simple silver ring with a small diamond surrounded by emeralds and rubies. "Good, it's not flashy, did you get it custom made by a jeweller?"

"Yes," James said nervously, not sure what the right answer was.

"Good, have you had it engraved?" Mel asked again, sounding like an interrogation.

"Yes, it has the words, _'My Lily flower'_ engraved in Ancient Runes because that was her favourite subject at school, was that alright?" James asked, suddenly nervous about the ring instead of Mel's interrogation. Mel blessed him with a smile.

"Yes, that's fine. Now, James Potter, are you a wizard or not?" Mel levelled a glare at him.

"What?" James was confused, not for the first time, while having a conversation with Mel. The four male Marauders felt that it was a prerequisite for conversing with her (not that three of the four of them knew what that meant anyway).

"Are you or are you _not_ a wizard?" Mel asked him, patience starting to wane.

"Well, yes I s'pose." He said, sounding extremely confused about this current branch of her questioning.

"Good, then make Minnie proud and show us why you were top of the Transfiguration class… apart from me." Mel added the last bit courteously while everyone else in the room rolled their eyes.

"Of course," Remus spoke sarcastically. "How dare we forget?" He finished rhetorically. Mel mock glared at him and sniffed to show her fake condescension. Everyone laughed and they all basked in the moment before reality intruded in the form of the fireplace turning green.

"Crap, it's Lily." James hissed and raced to the drawer to put the ring away as Sirius rushed for the flowers. James barely made it back to the couch and Sirius barely made it through to the unused dining room before Lily stepped out of the fireplace and stumbled out of the grate. "Still not too crash hot with that, are you Evans?" Mel sniggered into her hand as Lily glared at her.

"I've told you a million times to call me Lily, what happens when I get married?" Lily huffed making Mel laugh. "I'll simply call you Potter." She responded slyly and this time Lily laughed. "Is that a prophecy, Mel?"

"Indeed it is." Mel hinted not-so-subtly, again Lily laughed. "And that is all I shall give away. Sirius and I need to scoot, so we'll get out of your hair. Are you going to come with us, Remus?" Sirius bounded over to her and grabbed her arm, tugging her to the living room where a secondary floo was located.

"C'mon, Mel." He urged her. "Let's get out of here before they start their daily exercise." Mel laughed and Remus led the way into the living room, where Sirius snagged the flowers on their way through.

They flooed to Mel and Sirius' house and Sirius collapsed on the couch in stitches. "Did you see Lily's face?" He gasped out around his gales of laughter. "She is definitely going to hex me next time she sees me!" He said, rolling off the couch in his hysterics. Mel and Remus rolled their eyes and took the flowers through to the kitchenette. Mel pulled her wand out of her sleeve and quickly transfigured the lily petals into beautiful white rose ones. "Right… now what else do we need to fix, Remus?" She asked, rolling her eyes at the complete foolishness of her lover and long-time friend.

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_14__th__ August 1978_

"So…" Mel trailed off deliberately as she stared in the direction of Lily's left hand, which was hidden under the table. The Marauders plus Lily were seated around James' dining room table for their customary Saturday night dinner and once Mel brought up the gigantic elephant in the room, everyone perked up in their seats. Especially Peter, as he had not been present for the disaster that was Sirius' flower selection.

Lily blushed when everyone stared at her and Mel giggled, causing the men to stare at her. "Alright," she ordered. "Show me the ring."

"I didn't know she could make that noise." Remus whispered to the other three males while Lily and Mel cooed over the ring.

"Neither did I." Sirius commented.

"Hasn't she already seen the ring?" James asked confused.

"Yes, but I haven't seen it _on _her finger." Mel responded to the rhetorical question in a 'duh' voice. "Besides, I do occasionally like to act like a girl. Just because it took you lot until fifth year to notice."

Sirius and James protested while Remus laughed and Peter walked around the table (he sat with Remus on his left and Mel on his right) to stand next to Lily. "May I please see the ring?" He asked shyly.

"Certainly," Lily said as she showed him her left hand and bestowed a smile upon him. Mel grabbed Lily's arm and dragged her into the sitting room. The men who were left behind at the table heard her say, "So tell me what happened! What did James do wrong this time?"

"Do you think we'll ever live this down?" Sirius asked the room at large. Remus pretended to think about it as loud gales of laughter were heard.

"You'll never live this down, Padfoot." He responded blithely, picking up his fork again as Mel's voice again rang through the doorway. "Actually, Padfoot ordered the flowers. Did you like the time delay on the Transfiguration?"

"Yes," Lily's voice responded as Sirius and James looked at each other with horror. "James fell over himself trying to explain. It was rather sweet, I suppose."

"You're a greater woman than I am, Evans." Mel responded drily and the men relaxed as the two females again collapsed in hysterics in the next room.

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**A/N: A very corny ending, but I hope you all enjoyed it… if you got this far. Please review and check out the parent story to this little baby, **_**come away, O human child.**_


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